 Throughout the Ten Makos (Plagues), God told Moshe and Aaron to do certain things and they did something close, but not exactly – close but no cigar. By Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife), Moshe
and Aaron were punished severely because they didn’t follow God’s directions to the letter. They were denied entrance to the land of Israel.
Why the HUGE discrepancy? Why was Hashem so lenient with them in Mitzrayim (Egypt) and so strict with them at Mei Merivah?
Let’s look at what Hashem told Moshe and Aaron to do by the Makos (Ten Plagues) and see how well they followed His directions:
1st Plague – Blood (Dahm) ( Exodus 7:19,20)
Hashem said to Moshe, “ Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt . .
Moshe and Aaron did so, as Hashem commanded. [Instead], He raised the staff and struck the water that was in the River . . .
2nd Plague – Frogs (Tzfardeia)
And Hashem said to Moshe, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the waters of Egypt . . .
[Instead], Aaron stretched out his hand [no staff] over the waters of Egypt . . .
3rd Plague – Lice (Kinim) (8:12,13)
Say to Aaron, Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it shall become lice . . .
And they did so: Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the land . . .
4th Plague – Wild Beasts (Arov)
God brought the plague Himself, not Moshe and Not Aaron.
5th Plague – Animal Epidemic (Dever)
Brought by Hashem Himself . . .
6th Plague – Boils (Shechin)
God Said to Moshe and Aaron, ‘Take for yourselves handfuls of furnace soot, and let Moshe throw it heavenward before the eyes of Pharaoh . . .and it will become boils . . .
And they took furnace soot, and stood before Pharaoh and Moshe threw it Heavenward . . .
7th Plague – Hail (Barad)
And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Stretch out your hand toward Heaven and there will her hail in the entire land of Egypt . . . (9:22)
[Instead], Moshe stretched out his staff toward Heaven and Hashem sent Thunder and hail . . (9:23)
8th Plague – Locust (Arbeh)
And Hashem said to Moshe, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locust swarm . . . (10:12)
[instead], Moshe stretched out his staff . . .
9th Plague – Darkness (Choshech)
And Hashem said to Moshe, ”Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, and there will be darkness . . . (10:21)
And Moshe out his hand toward the heavens . . .(10:22)
10 Plague – Killing of the First Born (Makas B’choros)
Hashem did this one by Himself, Directly.
So out of the first 8 plagues, they got it right only 4 times and wrong 4 times. in plagues 1, 2, Aaron didn’t do what God told him to do, and in plagues 7 and 8, Moshe followed suit – he also didn’t do what God told him to do. They changed Hashems’ instructions . .
. . . yet, they weren’t punished.
Then, by Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife), Aaron and Moshe both were both punished and were not allowed to enter the land of Israel!
Why this huge discrepancy? Why, by the plagues, were they allowed to change what God told them to do four out of eight times, and were praised, and then by Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife), God was so strict with them and so exacting?!
Quite interestingly, the incident of Mei Merivah (the Waters of strife) occur in Parshas Chukas, the portion that starts out with the Quintessential Chok (a law with no reason given). That Portion is about following orders with no questions and no deviations.
In Parshas Va’Eira, “And Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aaron and commanded them regarding the Children of Israel and regarding Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
לְהוֹצִיא אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
to take the Children of Egypt out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 6:13)
The essence of the entire verse is that Hashem commanded Moshe and Aaron to take the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. The PRIME DIRECTIVE was
לְהוֹצִיא אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
TO TAKE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT! (Exodus 6:13)
How you do it is not important. The goal here is to get the Bnei Yisroel out - period!
The details are not important. So by the ten plagues, If Hashem said stretch out your hand and they stretched out their staff, or vice versa, no big deal because of the Prime Directive – GET THEM OUT!
That’s why the Torah says, “Moses and Aaron did so, as Hashem had commanded. He lifted his staff and struck the water . . . (Exodus 7:20). Even though Hashem had just told Moshe two verses earlier, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt . . . and they shall become blood (7:18).
The Prime Directive – GET THEM OUT! The details are not important.
By Mei Merivah, it’s a whole different ball game. There, in the middle of Parshas Chukas (the portion of the Red Heifer) the details WERE important – they were the essence.
That’s why Moshe and Aaron were not punished, but were praised by the Makos (the Ten Plagues ), and why they were punished by Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife).
It is also fascinating that the Pasuk (verse) which give the prime directive for Moshe and Aaron to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt, is verse 6:13.
There are no coincidences, especially in the Torah.
The Prime Directive to take the Jews out of Mitzrayim (Egypt) was so that they could receive the Torah, the 613 Mitzvos (commandments).
It so fascinates me that even the positioning of a pasuk in the Torah has something to tell us, some remez or hint. There are many things to be learned from a seemingly extra letter or word, or even a missing letter or word. And now, even from the location of a Pasuk. I guess the old real estate adage is true after all – location, location, location.
What is the bigger lesson here?
There are times when we are supposed to follow the letter of the law exactly. Most mitzvos (commandments) are like that. Then there are times where intentions are important. And then there are times where "Eis laasos laShem hefeiru torasecha," - It is time to act for Hashem since Your Torah is being uprooted (Tehillim 119:126).
Take, for example, When Moshe came down from Mt. Sinai and saw the Golden Calf that the Jews had made, he threw down the two Luchos (Tablets) that were written by the finger of God, and shattered them.
At the end of the Chumash, the last act mentioned as the greatest t act ever performed by a human being , the Torah describes Moshe’s decision to shatter the luchos (Tablets), and Rashi says that God was maskim – He agreed with Moshe’s decision.
How do you know when to be exact, when to be lenient, and when to stand up for the Torah? Only through a lifetime of study and by having a relationship with Hashem.
If we study long enough and hard enough, with the intention to get closer to Hashem and have a relationship with Him, then, when the time comes to act in what would appear to be a way contrary to the Torah, we will hopefully have the guidance to know if doing this strange thing we are about to do seems very right, or very wrong.
Take Pinchas. When he saw Zimri and Kozbi sinning in front of Moshe and the entire nation, he grabbed the nearest spear and slew them both, without hesitating. He just knew what he had to do, and he did it because he understood that God’s Honor was being offended and nobody was doing anything about it.
When there are no men [doing what needs to be done], you be the man! (Pirkei Avos).
He was rewarded with the Kehuna and with God’s covenant of peace.
When a life is at stake, or even if there is a possibility that a life is in danger, we are commanded to put the holy Shabbos aside and save that life.
Albert Einstein said, Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.
In Hebrew we say that as “As you plant, so shall you reap.”
May we be dedicated in putting in our Avodah (work) of learning and doing for Hashem so that we will be prepared for whatever He choose to put before us. And may we be guided to know when to do things exactly as commanded, and when to step up and take a stand for Hashem.
Heshie Klein, MD
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